A wonderful February day

Why is it a wonderful day, you ask?  Our family welcomed Grady Patrick to the world today! 

He was born a bit before 1:00 PM.  DNiece and he are doing well - nobody has said how dad is doing :-).  I am head-over-heels in love and can't wait to meet him (I'm planning to head to Michigan to see them in a couple of weeks).  Grady is baby #4 in our family in the last year (well a bit more) and we have one more coming in June.Speaking of the babies.  Here are Vance and Calder:

This was their 5 month picture.  They're not dressed as cowboys - they're both teething and very drooly.

And Jack:

He is definitely growing out of his baby looks and into a toddler.  He had tubes put in his ears a couple weeks ago and from reports is very much enjoying the sound of his voice. :-)

So, stitching.  I did a lot of stitching this weekend, on a lot of different projects.  I knocked four goals off my February acrostic, so feeling very good.

LOTS OF PICTURES FOLLOW:

The first piece I pulled out was Santa and the Mouse (this was a freebie on the HaED website a few years back).  I needed something for "0" and I worked on this 0 times last year.  Last time I had it out, I was here:

I added about 120 new stitches and got it to here:

I used the Pattern Keeper app and I really liked it.  I had to load my progress in but am really pleased with how easy it was to use and I was able to keep my place with no problem (well, once I figured out where I was).

Next I went onto Common Ground by Just Nan. It went from here:

to here:

I really enjoyed working on this one but was only able to get this far in the time I'd allotted.

I pulled Garden Fair out because I needed something for "2" and this only has 2 colors in it.

I'm stitching this with Anchor black as I have heard for years how superior it is to DMC black.  This is one-over-one on 40-count linen and I can't say I'm seeing much of a difference between the two.  The Anchor has thick and thin areas just like the DMC and because of that there are places where the fabric is showing through.  I'll finish this piece up with the Anchor since I spent the money but I don't think I'd make an extra effort to get it in the future.

I also pulled out Luna by Nora Corbett and got her from here:

to here:

I probably should have started her a little bit further to the right so that wing tip was centered in the moon - ah well...

I spent some time crocheting and almost have the shawl finished but I forgot to take a picture.

I spun the wheel on my decision roulette for my normal rotation pieces and J by Nora Corbett came up first.  I'm not putting a before as all I did was that bit of beading at the top of the J.  I forgot how much time beading can take and this is bead heavy. Of course it is, it's a Mira/Nora design.

Temperature Tree came up next:

The fabric color is much more true in the bottom photo.  I finished the January leaves and added the April branch and got a pretty good start on the May/June/July top of the tree.

That left Time for Seasons from By the Bay Needlearts.  It went from here:

to here:

That house reminded me why I don't care for 18 or 36-count fabric - I can't get the number of threads right.  One is too thin for most colors and two is just that bit too much. Doubling up on some and not others would look strange on this piece, so using a thinner needle so I can get the threads between the ones already there rather than splitting them.

Even with all that stitching, I got a bunch of time in on Magic Dreams. Boy by Cute Patterns by Maria and with the news of today, I need to spend all my time on it from now on.  It went from here:

to here:

Of course, just as I finished it off, I figured out that Grady was not going to be blond and that I should have done a conversion to brown.  Ah well again

Friday is my day off, so plan to finish-finish the Forever and Ever pillow and then stitch the weekend away - again.

January WIPocalypse

The last Sunday of the month means it's time for .  We've still got a few days left, but it's hard to believe that January is already done.  It has been a good month for me - my stitching bug is back in full force I even had a small case of startitis!, I've got plans, my new job/boss/coworkers are wonderful, and in general I am less stressed and definitely happier believe me, I know how lucky I am.

So, WIPocalypse?  Yep, WIPocalypse.  It started way back in 2012 when we made a list of all the projects we wanted to finish before the world ended.  The world stayed in one piece but the SAL continued.  WIPocalypse is hosted by Melissa at Measi's Musings and helps you focus on finishing up those WIPs that have been hanging around for a while a while? I've got WIPs going that were started when DSon was in high school (he'll be 37 this summer).  Knowing that sometimes a discussion theme can be difficult to come up with, Melissa provides a prompt each month.  This month's is:  What SALs are you participating in this year?  I have had to scale back my SAL participation drastically over the years - I just don't have the time to devote to stitching right now that would allow me to do a School of Magical Stitches type SAL - so I tend to gravitate towards the ones that reinforce something I'm trying to do - finish WIPs, stitch gifts, etc..  WIPocalypse and Gifted Gorgeousness fit that requirement perfectly.  The other type of SAL I tend to do is the "I have to have that pattern and it's being released over 12 months - of course I can keep up" - of course I can't keep up that's why I have so many WIPs and can continue participating in WIPocalypse for the next 20 years - of that type of SAL, I'm doing the Time for Seasons SAL from By the Bay Needleart.  I love Donna's designs, but as expected, I'm behind - part 3 has been released and I'm about 1/4 way through part 1.  The other one I really want to join is the Lesley Teare Designs Birds and Blackwork Flowers through Creative Poppy.  I love the bright colors and whimsical birds and flowers.  Do I have time?  Of course not. Do I do blackwork?  Nope, and I hate backstitching although Leonore's comment that each section is like a small finish helps, none of that is stopping the "I must stitch this" thought every time I see it.

In addition to WIPocalypse, this weekend was the first 24 hours of cross stitch - an amped up version of IHSW - for 2020.  I had great plans to fit my 24 hours over the entire weekend, but we've all heard about plans right?  The house stuff took longer on Friday than expected, and the errands on Saturday took longer than expected so I came up about 8 hours short of a full 24 hours of stitching.  I did learn a valuable lesson - do all the housekeeping and errands before starting the next 24 I think in April.

My brain wanted to stitch, not bead so nothing new on J.  I did my usual hour each on Temperature Tree and Time for Seasons.

Temperature Tree went from here:

to:

I have got to get busy on the branches as the leaves are catching up fast.

Time for Seasons went from here:

to here:

I was having some issues stitching this one - progress was slow and I wasn't really having a good time stitching it.  I tried a bunch of different things and finally changed my needle and the problems went away.  Once I got used to the size difference - I was using a John James petite and switched to a Bohin - stitching sped up and I started to really enjoy the process.  

Magic Dreams. Boy. was my focus piece and I put 14 hours into it (keeping track of time is a new thing for me this year).

I started with it here on Friday:

and it was here Sunday evening:

I had a minor frog attack and had to redo a chunk of the fluke but I am happy with my progress.  I am a bit concerned that the background is going to really slow me down - there are stars and LOTS of individual stitches in white and light blue which means any carried thread will show.  I am thinking of buying some dark/black interfacing and putting that on the back before stitching the background in the hope that it will cover any carried threads or longer tails. Has anyone done that?  Did it make it difficult to frame although I'm not sure how it's going to be finished-finished?  Any ideas or thoughts are appreciated.

My late IHSW update

I participated in  but I didn't do my follow-up post, so here it is. 

As I had Monday off, I did add an extra day to my weekend.

While Magic Dreams was my focus, I spent a good part of Friday working on Jordan from Nora Corbett -  I just found out she actually has a name...

She went from here:

to here:

Just the beading left the peppermints aren't attached, I just wanted to see how they'd look.  I played around with beads and settled on a silver lined clear Magnifica.  They were left over from another project.  I think I have enough to finish this piece, but not the other two so a small order will be going in soon.  I also changed out the called for DMC on the wings and swirls for a Petite Treasure Braid it's a Christmas piece, you can never have too much sparkle on a Christmas piece!!

Back to Magic Dreams.  He went from here:

to here:

Lots of stitching with lots of different colors and blends.  He's on the frame as my focus piece this weekend too.  I would like to get him finished or very close to finished as there is a very good chance that the doctors aren't going to let mom carry him until February 5th.

A few more leaves and part of another branch on the Temperature Tree:

and a bit more progress on Time for Seasons:

I added a lot of blue and if you look closely, you can see a house in that negative space there in the middle.

Rain in the forecast for this weekend, so once I get the errands run, I'll be inside stitching.

A two SAL post

I was going to wait and post at the end of the weekend so I could show all the fabulous stitching I did, but that's how I got out of the blogging habit last year - the end of the weekend became the end of the week, became next week, became Oh my gosh, it's December !!

Before I do my SAL check-in:

I have a finish!  Yes, me.  Yes, a finish.

 

This is Forever and Ever by Cottage Garden Samplings.  It's stitched on 40-count Tin Roof from Weeks Dye Works with the designer's DMC conversion.  I'm going to finish-finish it as a pillow.  The only change I made is that I used a red from the flower in the L - it was charted in yellow and it looked strange to me.

Actually, I could have introduced the first SAL and Forever and Ever would have fit right in.  I'm referring to .  Gifted Gorgeousness is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching and is a way to thank those generous folks that have gifted us with stitching goodness or to show things that we are making for gifts, or for whatever else we can shoehorn into the guidelines - Jo doesn't really have rules.  If you click on the Gifted Gorgeousness badge at the top there, it will take you to the sign-up page.  So I have Forever and Ever which is a gift and:

Magic Dreams. Boy. by Cute Patterns by Maria.  This is the birth announcement for my niece's little boy.  If you look hard, you can see his arm and just the start of the whale he's sleeping on - hence the magic dreams title.  I'm stitching it on 32-count Midnight Tryst from Fabrics by Stephanie with the called for DMCs.  This is the first time I've stitched one of Stephanie's fabrics and I really like it.  I'm also trying out one of the Sullivan ball-tipped needles.  I figured it was a gimmick but fear of missing out and all that, so I bought one.  I am pleasantly surprised by it.  It really does seem to help the stitches lay better and I haven't split a thread since I started using it - which is good because I have done some frogging on this piece.  I don't know if I find the holes any easier but it does seem to make stitching on a dark color easier.  

So those are my two gifted gorgeousness pieces.  The other SAL is .  IHSW gives you an official reason to sit and stitch on the third weekend of each month.  While most of us physically stitch alone on this weekend you know that you're not stitching alone.  IHSW is also happening on the same weekend that 24 Hours of Cross Stitch is happening so there are lots of people cross stitching, for various amounts of time, around the world this weekend.  Magic Dreams will be my focus piece and since Monday is a holiday for me, I will have lots of time for stitching.  I will also be working on Temperature Tree.

It has leaves!  It has too many leaves that are green, they should be in the blue range.  I think we'll be closer to normal January temperatures this coming week.

J is also on the list:

Those colors are soooo off, in person, you can hardly see the blue in the fabric.  Anyway, as I started stitching the wing, I was thinking "Fairy wings are supposed to be ethereal and sparkly, rather like dragonfly wings (or at least my fairy's wings are)" so I ripped out what I had and did it with one strand of floss over two and went back over the top leg of the stitch with blending filament.  Here's a closer picture of the wing:

 It's a pain to do this, but it's giving me the effect I want.  The open spaces are for beads (it's a Nora Corbett after all).

The last one, maybe, will be Time for Seasons from By the Bay Needlearts:

Slow, steady progress.  Part 3 has been released, so I am slipping further behind, but I am enjoying the time I am spending on this one.

Thank you for your comments on Garden Fair.  I thought I'd made up my mind to rip out the red and redo it with DMC 817, but every time I look at it I think, "Maybe I should stitch a larger area so I can see what it really looks like".  I think I've settled on doing that - I do reserve the right to change my mind again.

The weather is supposed to get bad this afternoon, so I did all my out of house running around last night after work, so no reason to go anywhere.  I have a few housekeeping things to take care of and then all I will have left to do is stitch.  Ahhhhh.

First 2020 WIPocalypse

It's the first Sunday in January which means it's time for the first  check-in of the year.  Melissa at Measi's Musings hosts the SAL.  If you haven't participated, it's a chance to love the ones you're with so to speak.  It's a focus on WIPs and, if not finishing, then making progress.  It's not a competition, the only prize is the satisfaction of knowing *that* project is finally done.  If you'd like to learn more, click the badge.  The normal posting date is the last Sunday of the month, but we do an introduction post on the first Sunday.

A warning, this is going to be long and picture filled again.

Melissa also gives us cues each month for our posts.  This posts is: Introduce yourself, your projects and any goals you have for this year.

My name is Susan and I live in northern, central Virginia (southern northern Virginia starts about 10 miles up the road I've been told).  I live almost exactly halfway between Richmond and Fredericksburg.  It's just me, The Hubs and three cats here, but I have a son that lives in Michigan (along with the rest of the family).  I work for the Department of Agriculture in Washington DC and yes, I am one of those people with a crazy commute - about 2-1/2 hours each way.  I recently changed jobs and am now a writer/editor after years of working with loans and grants to rural communities.  It is a change but one I'm looking forward to.  I've been doing some sort of needlework ever since I can remember.  I recently taught myself to crochet so am trying to balance the enthusiasm for a new love with the steadiness of an old - I think this year I might manage it.

On the crochet front, I have two projects going, one I forgot to take a picture of and this one:

This is the Kaleidoscope Shawl by Sara Kay Hartmann.  The pattern can be found on the Yarnspirations/Red Heart website.  It's done with Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable in the Tealberry colorway.  It's shells and double crochet mesh, so an easy pattern and quick to work up.  I'm doing this as a Christmas gift for one of the Nieces.  I have another colorway for a second one.  It works up fast enough and the yarn is very affordable so I'm thinking of working them up and just having them for in-case gifts or maybe donations to a nursing home or care facility.

As far as stitching plans, I did cover that in a previous post, but it boils down to all-baby-all-the-time. But before we get to babies, I have one Christmas 2019 gift to finish:

This is Forever and Ever by Cottage Garden Samplings and is one of the twelve bird charts she did last year.  Since I last showed it, I completed the house, female cardinal and closed in the wreath.  Lots of leaves, a flower and "love" to be added for a finish, but there is a finish in sight.

So babies - my niece is expecting Baby Boy W in early February and my niece-in-law (although I don't make that distinction in my head or heart) is expecting Baby L the end of June.  I started the birth "sampler" for Baby W the other day and got to here:

The white thread on the dark background plays havoc with my camera

This is  Magic Dreams. Boy from CutePatternsbyMaria  . It's stitched on a 32-count Midnight Tryst from Fabrics by Stephanie with the called for DMC.  The fabric is a MUCH deeper, darker blue.

 Once Magic Dreams is done, I'll start on this

It will be done on black with the called for DMCs.  We need to know what Baby L is before planning the next blanket, announcement and stocking.

I went through a starting frenzy (well for me) and have lots of starts with just a few stitches in them. I have worked out a three hour, Sunday morning rotation.  One hour will be for Nora Corbett's Letters from Nora - J, O or Y.  I'm currently working on J and have her to here:

I'm doing the skin over-1 and it's slow going.  I need to stitch her wings so I have a better idea of where her arms need to fill in.  She's stitched on 32-count Summer Sky Jobelan with a DMC conversion from The Rocking Horse - they recently closed and I don't believe their website is still up.

Once she has her hour, I spin the decision wheel and spend an hour on:

Time for Seasons from By the Bay Needlearts.  This is stitched on 18-count Rustico/Natural Aida with the called for DMCs.  This is still part one - part 3 will be released on the 15th.

Or:

Temperature Tree from Stitchin' Mommy on Etsy.  I'm stitching it on 18-count Fiddler's Light with the called for DMCs.  This one will have to get some attention each week, just so I don't fall too far behind on the leaves.

Or maybe one of my two most recent starts:

Garden Fair from Courtney Collections.  I'm stitching it on 40-count Mallow linen - 1 over 2.  The pattern called for silks, but I've subbed a variegated red and solid black from Anchor.  I am not sure about the red - I think I may want a solid instead of the variegated, but will have to sit and look at it a bit more.

My other start was Common Ground from Just Nan:

I am going to frog this out and restart with one strand

 

The top is the called for two strands, the bottom is one.  The chart is from 2002 when the general rule of thumb was changing from three strands on 28-count to 2.  This is a 28-count but the thread is silk (I bought the Access Commodities thread kit along with the chart and fabric) so one strand equals about 1-1/2 DMC strands so the call was right for the time.  It's just not right for me now.  

I have several other possibles to add to the wheel, but I'll show them if I feel the pull to add them.

I am going to do my own version of stitch from stash.  I don't have a budget per se, I have "permission" to buy certain things - thread if needed to finish a project, purchase and kit for a gift (but it has to be a gift that will be given this year), etc.  I also have four projects on my allowed-to-buy list.  First is Winter Rose Manor by With Thy Needle and Thread.  This was an exclusive to the Shephard's Bush retreat a couple years ago but it's going to be released sometime this year - I've heard Market.  It's beautiful.  The second is a Christmas drum from Blackbird Designs.  This is another exclusive, but for one of Dyeing to Stitch's clubs.  I don't know if it is scheduled for a release this year, but I don't want to miss it when it does release.  If it was any company other than Blackbird I wouldn't be too concerned but their patterns retire so quickly.  The drum is beautiful also.  La Époque Nouveau from Pangea/Dimple Designs is always on my list and the one that I am stalking her Facebook most patiently waiting for is:

Virginia Sampler - a Cumberland County Inspiration by Theresa Baird of Heart's Ease Examplar Workes.  This is her 6th in the 13 Colony series and IT IS AMAZING!  I am usually not one for samplers but this one just knocked me over and pulled me in totally and completely.  I love everything about it.  LOOK at that border!  It's a HUGE piece - 26.75" long by 22" wide on 40-count (1 over 2). She stitched it on Vintage Strawflower by Lakeside Linen with NPIs and Belle Soie silks. I have a piece of 40-count Mallow, and have reserved one of my gift cards for the DMC, now she just needs to announce the "class" so I can purchase the pattern and throw my entire rotation out the window (except for the baby things) and start this.  I have no illusion this will be a quick stitch but, it will be a wonderful journey.  

If you've stuck around to here, thank you.  I'll be back with updates through the month and my WIPocalypse check-in on the 26th.